News Section

Over 50 events around North Carolina are planned as part of National Health Center Week (NHCW). The national campaign runs August 13-19th with the goal of raising awareness about the mission and accomplishments of North Carolina’s community health centers and those across the country over the course of more than five decades.

North Carolina’s community health centers play a vital role in our state’s healthcare safety net. They are innovators in healthcare delivery and feature a patient-centered medical home model that utilizes care teams and enabling services to help patients address their medical and social needs. Today, they play the following role in NC:

Participate in new delivery systems, such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Accountability Care Organizations and a Health Center Controlled Network that analyzes patient data to improve care

Generate & support over 3,400 jobs across the state

Have the staff expertise & outreach ability to help patients as the state moves through its Medicaid transformation

Nationally, community health centers:

Produce $24 billion in annual health system savings

Reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and unnecessary visits to the emergency room;

Treat patients for a fraction of the average cost of one emergency room visit

Maintain patient satisfaction levels of nearly 100 percent

Serve more than one in six Medicaid beneficiaries for less than two percent of the national Medicaid budget

Health centers not only prevent illness and foster wellness in the most challenging populations, they produce innovative solutions to the most pressing healthcare issues in their communities. In North Carolina, where our state did not expand Medicaid coverage to uninsured adults with incomes at or below $138% of the federal poverty level, community health centers remain one of the few healthcare providers willing to treat the

uninsured. They reach beyond the walls of conventional medicine to address the factors that may cause sickness, such as lack of nutrition, mental illness, homelessness and addiction. Because of their long record of success in innovation, managing healthcare costs, and reducing chronic disease, leaders in Congress have declared health centers a model of care that offers a “bipartisan solution to the primary care access problems” facing our nation.

There are NHCW events scheduled across North Carolina and the country, including health fairs, press conferences, back-to-school drives, community breakfasts, patient appreciation events, free health screenings and dental cleanings, visits by members of Congress and state officials and much more.

To learn more about NHCW and the listing of events please visit: www.healthcenterweek.org.

You can also follow the conversation using #NHCW17 or #ValueCHCs on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

RALEIGH

Oct 17, 2016

Events such as the flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew commonly result in the loss of important documents. North Carolinians can use the following resources to replace lost or damaged documents and records.

Individuals, including homeowners, renters, and business owners, in the designated counties who suffered loss or damages due to Hurricane Matthew may register for assistance online atwww.DisasterAssistance.gov, by downloading the FEMA mobile app, or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). For those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), the number is also 1-800-621-3362. For people using TTY, the number is 1-800-462-7585.

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Dial 211 to speak with a trained call specialist about Hurricane Matthew assistance in your area; the service is free, confidential and available in any language. Call 511 for the latest road conditions or check the ReadyNC mobile app, which also has real-time shelter and evacuation information. For updates on Hurricane Matthew impacts and relief efforts, go to ReadyNC.org or follow N.C. Emergency Management on Twitter and Facebook. People or organizations that want to help ensure North Carolina recovers can visit NCdisasterrelief.org or textNCRecovers to 30306.

North Carolina’s Medicaid reform plan lacks the most important change needed to improve health care for North Carolinians and strengthen the provider community — Medicaid expansion! Medicaid coverage should be extended to all adults ages 18-64 with incomes at or below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). In North Carolina, expanded Medicaid would cover more than 400,000 people; at least 244,000 of those in the Coverage Gap are uninsured as a result.

In 2014, 43% of all community health center patients in North Carolina were uninsured and more than 70% of patients lived at or below 100% FPL. Community health center staff see firsthand the significant health challenges and barriers to needed services that these uninsured and low-income patients face. In North Carolina, nearly 40,000 women are not receiving recommended preventive screenings, 27,044 diabetics cannot get much needed medications, and 45,500 individuals with depression are not getting the treatment they need. In fact, providers often have to modify treatment plans for uninsured patients because of their inability to afford a specialist visit or pay for needed medications.

With Medicaid expansion, community health centers in North Carolina could better coordinate the full spectrum of care their patients need. Medicaid expansion would also bring new income to the community health centers that would enable them to expand sites and services, hire new staff, and integrate and improve the care they provide.

Don’t let North Carolina’s Medicaid program continue to leave out the most important change for our state’s health. We need North Carolina to expand Medicaid!